Galapagos Legend

Galapagos Legend A

GALAPAGOS LEGEND - CRUISE A

Cruise A (Mon – Thu) – 4 days / 3 nights

Day 1: Monday
- AM – Baltra airport
Departure from Quito or Guayaquil to Baltra (2 ½ hours flight). Passengers are picked up at the airport by our naturalist guides and taken on a ten minute bus drive to the
pier to board the M/V Galapagos Legend.

PM – Highlands Tortoise Reserve (Santa Cruz Island)

Dry landing. In the mountains of Galapagos is possible to admire different kinds of birds, such as tree and ground finches, vermillion flycatchers, paint-billed crakes, yellow warblers, and cattle egrets (usually standing on the tortoises’ shell). The journey to the reserve offers great opportunities to see the contrasts that the island offers in reference to the variety of ecosystems. The road goes from the coast through the agricultural zone and straight up to the dense humid forests. Often, Galapagos Giant Tortoises are also seen on the way, wandering through pastures in the paddocks. This spot is a bird watchers’ haven since almost every land bird present on the island lives or migrates here.

Difficulty level: easy

Type of terrain: flat & muddy sometimes (seasonal conditions)

Duration: 45-minute drive / 1 ½-hour walk

OR (For Extended Cruises only)

Pm- Black Turtle Cove (Santa Cruz Island)

On the north shore of Santa Cruz Island, accessible only by sea, four species of mangrove crowd and form an internal lagoon, turtles visit the calm waters, peaking their heads above the surface while fish, rays circle below. White-tipped reef sharks can be seen beneath the boat, plus sea birds, including pelicans, herons and egrets. This cove has been declared as a “turtle sanctuary”.

Be marveled at the variety of sea life that uses the crevices of the lava cliffs for shelter. Red-billed Tropicbirds fly overhead, switching between their nests and the bay, and a small colony of fur seals may be found near the landing site. You will be dropped off at a steep stairway that begins on rocks at the foot of a path that leads through a seabird colony full of Nazca and Red-footed Boobies. At the plateau, the trail continues inland allowing you to see more nesting booby colonies in the thin Palo Santo forest. Near the end of the trail, over a rocky lava plain, Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrels can be observed flying in all directions. If you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of a Short-eared Owl.

Difficulty level: Moderate

Type of terrain: rocky – lava

Duration: 45-minute walk

PM – Darwin Bay (Genovesa Island)

Disembark onto a small sand and coral beach. A short trail heads west along a tidal lagoon and then up a rocky hill that leads to a point overlooking the cliffs and Darwin Bay. Along the trail near the tidal lagoon, visitors will see pairs of Swallow-tailed Gulls, Lava Gulls, Yellow-crowned and Lava Herons. The trail continues through Palo Santo trees, Opuntia cacti, and Saltbushes inhabited by Great Frigate birds and Red-footed Boobies. This is one of the few places in the islands where visitors are guaranteed to see Red-footed Boobies. It is estimated that more than 200,000 Red-footed Boobies live in the trees and bushes of Genovesa.

Difficulty level: Moderate

Type of terrain: Sand & Lava

Duration: 2 ½-hour walk aprox.

Day 3: Wednesday
- AM – Dragon Hill (Santa Cruz)
Dry landing. We walk by a brackish lagoon where feeding flamingoes can be occasionally found. The trail leads across typical dry zone vegetation* up to Dragon
Hill, an important nesting ground for endemic land iguanas*, offering lovely views of the anchorage and neighboring islands. The forest is home to mockingbirds, Darwin’s
finches, Yellow Warblers and Galapagos Doves.
Difficulty level: intermediate
Type of terrain: rocky
Duration: 2 hours walk

PM – North Seymour
Dry landing. This is perhaps one of the busiest tourist destinations on the archipelago. Off of Baltra Island (where the airport is located) and not far from Santa Cruz, North
Seymour is the most accessible for day trips out of Santa Cruz’s main port, Puerto Ayora. An approximately two hour walk amidst large nesting colonies of blue-footed
boobies*, magnificent and great frigatebirds*, and swallow-tailed gulls for an in depth encounter with sea bird breeding cycles and as well as sea lions. You will also
encounter sea lions, land iguanas, and on a lucky day, you might even come across a Galapagos Snake.
Difficulty level: intermediate
Type of terrain: rocky
Duration: 2 hours walk, 30 minute snorkeling

DAY 4
Thursday
AM – Bachas Beach (Santa Cruz Island)

Wet landing. On the north side of Santa Cruz; behind the beach lies two small flamingo ponds were iguanas sunbathe, see coastal birds, Darwin finches, mockingbirds, and gulls, as well as interesting native vegetation like red and black mangrove, salt bushes. This beach is one of the main sea turtles nesting sites in the Galapagos. A turtle can lay eggs 3 or 4 times per season with an average of 70 eggs each time. At this paradisiacal site, we will also find the remains of barges that sank a long time ago, when the United States Navy operated a base during World War II on Baltra Island. Local people modified the word barges to “Bachas”.

Difficulty level: easy

Type of terrain: sandy

Duration: 1-hour walk

Baltra Airport

After the visit, passengers will be transferred to the airport for their return flight to Guayaquil or Quito.

PM- Baltra Airport

After the visit, passengers will be transferred to the airport for their return flight to Guayaquil or Quito.

CHECK OUR GALAPAGOS LAST MINUTE DEALS FOR AUGUST, SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER